To ensure an effective, fair and responsive complaints handling process for patients, families and other stakeholders. This role involves supporting care groups investigating complaints in line with NHS policies and standards, working to resolve issues sensitively and professionally to enhance patient satisfaction in NHS services.
The Complaints Officer will support a culture of continuous improvement by identifying trends in complaints and maintaining accurate records. Through clear communication and collaboration with patients, staff, and management, the handler will contribute to a transparent, compassionate approach to addressing and learning from feedback.
***Preference will be given to internal Trust staff, as well as 'Priority' and 'At Risk' status including NHS At Risk staff throughout Devon who are able to display recent relevant experience as dictated by the Person Specification.***
Main duties of the job
Receive, log and acknowledge complaints in a timely manner, adhering to NHS guidelines. Facilitate the investigation of complaints by gathering relevant information from staff and records, ensuring an accurate understanding of each case.
Support the completion and analysis of the complaint process satisfaction survey feedback.
Act as a point of contact for complainants, maintaining a professional, empathetic and respectful approach at all times.
Communicate effectively with both internal staff and external stakeholders, ensuring that all parties involved are informed of the process and timelines.
Support relationships with clinical and administrative staff to facilitate efficient resolution of complaints.
Maintain accurate records of all complaints in line with data protection and NHS confidentiality guidelines.
Track the progress of open complaints, updating databases as necessary to ensure accurate reporting.
Assist in producing reports on complaint trends and outcomes for internal and external review.
Identify recurring issues or trends from complaints and elevate these findings to management.
Contribute to reviews of complaints handling processes to promote a patient‑centred approach and enhance service quality.
Ensure that all complaints are managed in accordance with NHS policies, procedures and statutory regulations.
About us
We are a people business – where every member of staff matters and can make a difference. Patients are at the heart of everything we do. Joining University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust means becoming part of a team of dedicated staff, who are committed to leading the way through innovation, clinical excellence and great customer care. The Trust has great opportunities for career development in a highly progressive working environment. We offer all of this in a vibrant, modern city with a historic reputation for adventure. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL COMMUNICATION WILL BE ELECTRONIC, PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT REGULARLY. If you have any issues with applying online and need additional support, including reasonable adjustments with the application process, please contact the recruitment manager for this post who will put you in touch with the recruitment team. We recognise that work life balance is important for our colleagues and so we invite requests from applicants for less than full time/flexible working for our advertised roles. Please contact the recruiting manager to discuss this prior to your application submission. We commit to giving this full consideration in each case. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds to apply for our roles, as diversity strengthens our teams. It is sometimes necessary to close vacancies before the closing date. If you have not heard from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been shortlisted.
Job responsibilities
PRIMARY DUTIES & AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY
- To manage, facilitate and co‑ordinate complaints related communication for complainants, colleagues and external organisations.
- To support service lines to adopt a pro‑active approach to the management of complaints within statutory requirements and national and local guidelines.
- To support the service lines in their response to any request from the Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman in an efficient and effective manner.
- Support the ongoing management of the complaints and any internal and external investigations.
- To record and monitor the learning from complaints and ensure outstanding actions are completed by the service lines. To discuss with service lines any outstanding actions and elevate any actions via the appropriate routes.
- To manage the planning, prioritising and organising of personal caseloads and cover colleagues’ work in their absence. This will include face‑to‑face, telephone and email contact with complainants, colleagues and external agencies to support the timely and effective resolution of complaints. To advise and attend local resolution meetings.
- To deliver a high‑quality service that meets Trust and national standards and deadlines.
- Responsible for identifying and escalating areas of concern via the appropriate routes, including delayed responses and thematic concerns.
- Responsible for prompt and accurate complaints data entry and ensure complaints are handled in line with SOPs and regulatory policy.
- Work as part of a multidisciplinary team, including the Incident and Legal teams, Coroner, solicitors, MPs, Service Line senior managers, Chief Executive team, Advocacy services and other external agencies including GPs, care homes and SWAST.
- Supporting managers at all levels and staff in the implementation of the Trust’s policies and procedures relating to the handling of complaints, promoting awareness of the benefits of learning and influencing a culture of no blame and open honest investigation and reporting.
- To coach staff at all levels on complaint processes and legislation, including how to write a response letter to meet Trust and NHS statutory requirements.
- To advise patients, carers and families of the NHS complaints procedure and inform complainants of independent advocacy and other services that may support them as required.
- To risk assess complaints using the Trust matrix based on their complexity and elevate accordingly.
For further details please see attached JD&PS.
Person Specification
Knowledge & Experience
- Proven knowledge in risk and incident processes.
- Demonstrable experience in complaint handling and/or customer service.
- Demonstrable experience in working with multidisciplinary teams including patients, clinicians, managers and staff.
- Proven knowledge of the NHS and the services it provides.
- Understand statutory obligations and standards relating to patient care and complaint services.
- Proven knowledge of Data Protection regulations including GDPR and the Health Records Act.
- Proficient IT skills, including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access.
- Minute taking, accurate and appropriate recording of complaint related meetings.
- Demonstrable experience of producing written material (including response letters, reports and presentations) to a high standard.
- Demonstrable experience working in a healthcare setting.
- Demonstrable experience in dealing directly with patients and their representatives on healthcare matters, concerns or complaints.
- Understanding of the wider healthcare agenda.
- Proven knowledge of medical/ healthcare terminology.
- Demonstrable experience of minute taking.
- Skilled at preparing formal analytical reports.
Qualifications
- Hold a relevant Further Education Qualification (Business Management, Administration, etc.) or have equivalent demonstrable experience.
- Proven evidence of continual professional development.
- Customer Service / Parliamentary Health Ombudsman Training.
- A clinically based qualification or equivalent demonstrable experience.
- Act calmly, safely and practically in difficult situations.
- Confident and comfortable dealing with sensitive issues including bereavement or serious harm to patients.
- Ability to speak clearly using non‑discriminatory and clear language at an appropriate level for the recipient.
- To work with people from a wide variety of backgrounds and abilities.
- To remain impartial and present issues and facts in a non‑discriminatory and non‑judgemental way.
- To assess the level of information required for the purpose of complaint investigation and to seek further information, if required.
- Training staff.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills including liaising with vulnerable, distressed and/or frustrated members of the public.
- Good organisational, time management and prioritisation skills.
- Ability to work within a busy team.
- Logical.
- Skilled in the use of Microsoft Windows based applications including Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
- Thorough knowledge and understanding of complaints investigation, confidentiality and consent procedures in the context of clinical governance in the NHS.
- The ability to extract and analyse complex data from IT systems and databases.
- Ability to take initiative demonstrating autonomy and independence at work.
- Proven knowledge of information governance regulations and requirements including Patient Safety Incident Reporting Framework (PSIRF) as they relate to healthcare service providers.
- Proactive – works on own initiative.
- Team player.
- Able to cope under pressure.
- Ability to evidence/demonstrate key values and behaviours in line with the Trust framework: Patient Centred, Safety, Compassion, Respect.
- The ability to concentrate for extended periods of time and to cope with both planned and responsive workload requirements. Often working to strict deadlines fundamental to the role.
- The ability to encounter sensitive and distressing information relating to patients, visitors or other members of staff.
- The ability to handle information with compassion, empathy and integrity with a degree of emotional resilience.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
£27,485 to £30,162 a year Per Annum Pro Rata
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